A GROUP of students from Kirkley High School are trying to raise £15,000 to support a-once-in-a-lifetime trip to China.The 35 year nine pupils are set to travel to Shanghai in April next year, with the aim of cultivating a working alliance between the school in Kirkley Run and the Jiang Ping Experimental School.

A GROUP of students from Kirkley High School are trying to raise £15,000 to support a-once-in-a-lifetime trip to China.

The 35 year nine pupils are set to travel to Shanghai in April next year, with the aim of cultivating a working alliance between the school in Kirkley Run and the Jiang Ping Experimental School.

Each student was chosen for the project after showing promising leadership skills and has been paired with a Chinese counterpart of a similar age, who they are already communicating with, and will stay with when in China.

The Journal is supporting the trip by keeping track of the students' fundraising and will be launching a rolling blog in coming weeks, keeping an eye on developments, as well as their experiences when they visit the country.

The ambitious challenge is a chance for the pupils to learn Mandarin, about the Chinese culture and to teach their partners about English life when they make a return visit to Lowestoft next June.

Among the group is Sam Harriman, 14, Chloe Massey, 13, Harriet Crowe, 13, Katie Lockwood, Ryan Sewell, 14, Michael Skazick, 14 and Kyle Rowe 14, who have been elected for various roles within the project, including editorial and fundraising.

“Hopefully, we're going to have a fundraising car wash and car boot on Saturday, June 14 from 1pm-4pm at the school where everybody will be joining in - we want to encourage everyone to come along,” said Harriet.

Michael said: “We are also thinking of having a raffle and I have spoken to some businesses about prizes.”

During their stay in China, pupils will spend time in school with their partners and take part in activities as a group, including a river trip and learning martial arts.

All seven said they had already learnt a lot about China through their pen pals. They also told of the impact the Sichuan earthquake had on their friends, with some feeling the tremors and others donating money towards supplying aid.

The trip was made available to the school after deputy head John Shanahan visited Jiang Ping and now the lucky group must do all they can to raise the cash so they can travel between April 18-25 next year.

To help the students raise money for their trip call 01502 525300. Car boot pitches are £5 each.